I should have known yesterday that we’d have problems, when I was putting on my shoes, and Maeby looked like this.

I should have known yesterday, but now it’s 10:30 in New York. And it’s also 10:30 in Puerto Rico, where Jeremy and I just so happen to be. It’s a sticky sort of comfortable as a light sea breeze blows through the screens. Deck lights aglow, the massive cruise liners have pulled out of port and headed for the sea. Our surroundings suggest that we’re in paradise, but anyone that’s ever experienced anxiety knows that it can warp whatever Edenic experience you are having into a twisted pit of stress.

Tonight, I am channeling my dog’s anxiety like a mother who feels her son’s pain as he gets pinned to the wrestling mat in front of the entire school. I feel Maeby’s anxiety across an entire ocean. We got a text from Maeby’s first ever sitter that it’s not working out with Maeby. She’s having too much anxiety.

The thing about rescue dogs is that they’re bound to have a little baggage. When Maeby flinches when the toast pops up, or when she barks at an oncoming dog, we’re reminded that there’s a hidden history written with Maeby’s paws. If I’m honest, I take a certain pride in helping Maeby conquer some of her neuroses. I’ve felt the productivity and the tenderness that comes with being the owner of a dog with PTSD.

But I can’t expect a random sitter to feel the same. I can’t expect anyone but me and Jeremy to feel the same to be honest, because it’s been a heck of a responsibility at times. But in Maeby’s and my transcontinental moment of need, four heroes have reminded me that love for all things great and small is a beautiful, powerful thing.

To Tyler Gattoni and Jason Modica, how can I thank you for dropping everything on a random Wednesday to rescue my dog from the sitter? How can I thank Jason for sitting in the backseat to snuggle Maeby into serenity? How can I thank Tyler for chauffeuring Maeby from Manhattan to Queens?

And how can I thank Karissa and Mike, friends I’ve only met a few times, for taking in my project pup out of the goodness of their hearts? For being the kind of people that care for a cat with diabetes? For being the kind of people that love animals for the love of animals?

The playful breeze here doesn’t blow me away quite like friends that have dropped everything to save our anxious hearts. This blog does little to express my overwhelming gratitude, but there you have it, people. Heroes exist, even if they’re just saving a girl and her dog.